Bedtime

The breeze blew softly across the pegasi town of Cloudsdale as the sun set on another beautiful day in Equestria. One by one, the lights of the town blinked off as the ponies went to sleep.

On the outskirts of the town a small house’s lights persisted on. Inside, a young filly was in her bed, waiting for her parents to read her a story.

“Pwease? I really want you to read me a bedtime story!” The little yellow pegasus looked up hopefully as a cyan blue stallion began to open the door to leave.

“Well…. Okay, but only if you promise to go to bed right after!” He walked back to her bed and booped her softly on the nose with his hoof and smiled.

The filly giggled, and nodded. “Okay, daddy.”

He walked over to a small bookshelf across the room. “Well then Fluttershy, which story do you want me to read you? There’s….”

“Lavender Flow’s Adventure!” Fluttershy blurted excitedly. Suddenly, she shrunk back into the light green covers a bit. “Please.” She added quietly.

“Are you sure you don’t want a different book?” Fluttershy’s dad asked, gesturing to the bookshelf, which was full of books.

“No, I really like that one.” Fluttershy responded stubbornly

“Okay then.” He took a small purple book off of the shelf and sat down on the bed.

“Lavender Flow was a pegasus pony with a purple coat and a teal mane with a streak of blue….” He began.

Lavender Flow was a pegasus pony with a purple coat and a teal mane with a streak of blue. She lived in a small cottage near the forest with her parents and her pet bunny, Velvet.

Oftentimes, Lavender Flow would look out into the forest, daydreaming about traveling to distant lands. She loved to try new things and be adventurous, but her parents wanted her to stay at the cottage where it was safer.

“Can I hear the story too?” A small cyan blue colt walked in the door, interrupting.

“But Zephyr, you said you didn’t want to be read be read bedtime stories anymore.” Their dad pointed out, as he had said that only yesterday.

“I changed my mind then. Besides, I’ve never heard this one before, and it sounds like it’s going to be cooler than the other ones!” Zephyr said with a determined look on his face.

“Okay, you can sit on the floor here I guess.” He pointed with his hoof to the small green rug on the floor next to the bed.

Zephyr sat down at looked at their dad expectantly.

“Okay then. One day, Lavender Flow was feeling especially cooped up and bored….”

One day, Lavender Flow was feeling especially cooped up and bored. It rained all day, stranding Lavender Flow inside until it would stop that evening.

Lavender Flow decided that she was tired of always being inside or near the cottage. She made a plan to escape that night so she could finally explore the forest. She packed a small tent, blankets, her sleeping bag, a notebook, and a little bit of food in her saddlebag to get ready to leave.

Later that night, when her parents were sleeping, Lavender Flow put on her saddlebag. She grabbed a lantern and took off towards the forest. At the last minute, she decided to leave a note for her parents.

Please don’t worry about me, I’ve only gone into the forest to spend the night and explore a bit before hiking back. I should be back by lunch!

-Lavender Flow

Zephyr shuffled, wide-eyed. “But doesn’t she know that there are monsters in the forest?”

“I don’t think so. Remember she was never allowed into the forest?” Their dad replied, looking up from the book.

“Oh yeah….” Zephyr looked down awkwardly and Fluttershy squeezed a pillow.

“Let’s find out what happens! Lavender Flow flew over the forest, looking for an open spot to land…”

Lavender Flow flew over the forest, looking for an open spot to land. Not too far from the cottage, she saw a cave with a small meadow in front of it. She landed in the middle of the meadow and began to set up her little tent.

A little while later, Lavender Flow was in her sleeping bag in the tent, slowly drifting off to sleep. She was so excited for tomorrow, when she would explore a bit before hiking back!

Golden rays of sunshine streamed through the little window in the tent, waking Lavender Flow. She stretched and yawned, remembering that she was going exploring today.

After she ate, Lavender Flow packed a everything and started to walk around. Right away, she saw a flower out of the corner of her eye. When she walked closer, she realized that she had never seen it before. She got out her notebook and made a quick note of what it looked like.

She continued like this, walking around near the path and taking notes. Lavender Flow began to wish she could do this all the time. She loved taking notes about plants and animals she had never seen!

Just then, she was surrounded by light for a second and her flank began to tingle. She got up and looked at her flank, and felt like she could fly to Yak - Yakistan and back!

She had finally gotten her cutie mark! It was a magnifying glass with a purple flower underneath it!

“Wow, she got her cutie mark!” Zephyr’s tiny wings buzzed in excitement.

Their dad smiled. “That’s pretty amazing, isn’t it?”

Fluttershy looked up dreamily. “I wonder what my cutie mark’s going to be?”

“That’s a good question, and one you’ll have to discover the answer to yourself. In the meantime, let’s finish this story! Lavender Flow couldn’t wait to race back to the cottage….”

Lavender Flow couldn’t wait to race back to the cottage to tell her parents about her cutie mark! She quickly put her notebook in her saddlebag and set out for home running.

Panting, Lavender Flow ran out of the forest next to the cottage. She didn’t stop until she got to the front door. She knocked on it quickly, and stood there breathing heavily.

A cream-colored mare with a long blue mane opened the door. “Oh, there you are, Lavender! You had us worried sick! Are you okay?” She looked down worriedly.

Lavender Flow looked up and smiled as she caught her breath. “I’m better than okay Mom! Look!” She raised her flank, showing off her new cutie mark.

Her mom had a surprised look on her face. “Come on inside, you should show your father this!”

Lavender Flow ran inside and showed her dad her cutie mark, and they all celebrated at the cuteciniera that happened a couple of days later.

Even so, Lavender Flow was still confined to the cottage for a week because she had run off.

“The end.” Fluttershy and Zephyr’s dad closed the small book, and walked across the room to put it on the shelf. Soft snoring could be heard, and he turned around with a smile.

Fluttershy and Zephyr were fast asleep, curled up cutely. He laughed quietly, tucking in Fluttershy. He picked up Zephyr and turned off the light as he walked down the short hallway to his room.

He put Zephyr in his bed and closed the door softly.

Author's Note:

Here's Lavender Flow-